Affiliate marketing currently lacks industry standards for training and certification. There are some training courses and seminars that result in certifications; however, the acceptance of such certifications is mostly due to the reputation of the individual or company issuing the certification. Affiliate marketing is not commonly taught in universities, and only a few college instructors work with Internet marketers to introduce the subject to students majoring in marketing.[37]
In the past, many affiliate marketers focused on a catch-all approach, offering traffic up to hundreds or thousands of sites, even if they had little authority or traffic to give. But in 2018, advertisers will laser their focus into smaller groups of highly credible, targeted, and popular influencers. To map your strategy, focus on a few key influencers in your industry. Start with them, then nail your niche before expanding outward.
Individual sellers and companies offering products or services have to deal with their consumers and ensure they are satisfied with what they have purchased. Thanks to the affiliate marketing structure, you’ll never have to be concerned with customer support or customer satisfaction. The entire job of the affiliate marketer is to link the seller with the consumer. The seller deals with any consumer complaints after you receive your commission from the sale.

#2: Another great program is Jon Dykstra's Niche Tycoon. This focuses on paid traffic and outsourcing content to make money with Google Adsense (and similar programs). It requires a bit more of a budget, and also has less of a support community than Wealthy Affiliate, so it's best for people with a bit of online marketing experience and some money to get their business going.

#2 Breaks things down into stages. On top of that this course also breaks things down in stages. Stage 1 is The Authority Site System which shows you how to build a thriving affiliate business by driving search traffic from Google to your website. Stage 2 and Stage 3 cover more advanced topics like email marketing, social media, and even creating your own product.
Affiliate marketing is also called "performance marketing", in reference to how sales employees are typically being compensated. Such employees are typically paid a commission for each sale they close, and sometimes are paid performance incentives for exceeding objectives.[21] Affiliates are not employed by the advertiser whose products or services they promote, but the compensation models applied to affiliate marketing are very similar to the ones used for people in the advertisers' internal sales department.